Conveyer mechanism



Feb y I A l R. D. SCHQENWETTER CONVEYER -MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet l Qrignal. Filed. dan. 8. 1920 Feb. 12., 1924.

R; D. vs,cnr-loeNWI-:'r'rlaz coNvEYER- MEGHANISM original- Filed nah. a, 1920 s sheets-sheet s Feb. 12 1924. 1,483,121.

' R. D. SCHOENWETTER CONVEYER MECHANISM .original Filed Jan] e. 1920 5 sheets-sheet 4 AWM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 CONVEYER MECHANI SM R. D. SCHOENWETTER original Filed Jah. 8;'1920 Feb. 12 1924.

Patented F eb. 12, 1924.

U-NirED STATES PATnurv Fries". i

REINHOLD D. SCHOENWETTER, or RALTIMCRE,y MARYLAND, AssIGNORTO NATIONAL MANUFACTURING' COMPANY. or BALTIMORE. MARYLAND.' A CORPORATION OFl MARYLAND.

CONVEYER' MRCHANISM.

originaizapplicatitnied January s,192o,fseria1 N; 35o,'1s6'. Di'vidd and this anpiication filed` February 7, 1922.

To altari/tom it ma-y concerne' Be it known that I, REINHOLDy D. 'SLC'TroiiNwn'rTiiR,v a citizen of the United Sta-tes;l residing at Baltimore', in thel State of Marylandfhaveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Conveyer Mecha-'7 nism; andI I do hereby declare the following to be a full", clear, and exact description oi the invention','such as will enable' others skilled in the art to" which it appertains toimake and use Vthesamt-e.

My inventionv relates to' coating machines.

Among the: objects of my invention are To provide means for applying a coating of water to" a gummed band such as is usually applied"` to cigars.

To provide meansfonremoving' a band from* a stack of bandsan'd bringing same into1 operative' lel'ationrwith the coating mechanisni.'l

To provide means for delivering the band to means for applying the band to the .cigar after sai'dband has'bee coa-tedwith Water. I l

To' provid'e'mean's for adjustably Varying 'the time .interval between the application of the coat'of water to the 'band and the ai'plication if the band tothe cigar.y

To" provide means for operating the variout elements of my improvedcoating machine at the proper times'. y

To provide simple-and effective means for reniovingthe band from each element and deliveringit tothe next element during the Operationof coating the band.

To provide a'wetting mechanism capable of operating upon bands that vary greatly insize andv sli/ape.

To proyide amachine capable of perform# minimumv of parts and yrequiring a mini` mum of adjustment and care.

This application' is a divisionof my pending application for Letters Patent Serial 4 No'. 350.1861 iiled January 8, 1920 for coat* innl machines. n

iinproved cigar banding machine consists of a magazine in whichthe bands are stacked and from' which they are removed by an" appropriate slieetfeedingmachine and delivered to` a conveyer by which they are brought into Operative relation kto a coating mecli'aiiisin which 'applies moisture" or' a gum ing the ascribed functions' and having a Serial: N: 5343555.

kpreparation to said bands, yafter which a de-k` positor removes 'the bands". from the con- `veyfer andv delivers said bands'. to the band applying mechanism, jwhich'applies' 'the bands to the cigars. The cigars arey held",

and" controlled by appropriate' mechanism forming part of the band applyingmechanism and said cigars are also' shifted by suitable mechanisinfom the position in which the band is applied after the operation is completed;

This application is intended to cover the novel features involved inthe mechanism which performs thevarious operations by which ythe-band is transported from the band ,f

holding mechanism to they band'applying mechanism and coated with watery or other material during said transportation.

One' combinationbfelements for carry-` ing out my invention; is illustrated in themcompanying drawings, in which lis a. planY View of my improved coating machine, the bracket 58 ybeing shownV as in section along the line lj-lfiny Fig. 6, and the ynostril .210 beingshown in se-.tion along the line l? inA Fig.' 6.

Fig. 2 isa section of the parts shown in F l taken along the linev 2 2 in Fig. 1,

certain ofthe parts being shown ineleva` tiony and not in section, ylooking inthe direction Aof the arrows.V ,A

Fig. 3 is an elevation'of thefconveyer, one cl'amp and the de'positor,L these parts being sh'owii asfA viewed in' the: direction of' the arrow 3 inl Fig.v l.

Fig. 4; is an elevation of the conveyer,

showing one clamp thereon and one suction head,` the" parts beingY viewed'in thepdi'rec-y tion ofthe *arrow j?) in Fig.` 1. This View.

also' shows the suction` pump whichris not Y shown in Fig'. l. y

Fig. 5 is an elevation' of the wetter and opeiati'ng means therefor. as shown in Fig.`

l when viewed in the direction ofthe arrow 3 in vsaid figi'ire.' In Fig. 5 the reseryoirfor containing` the water 'is shown bui'l -said' reservoir is not illustrated inFig. 1. n

Fig. 5 is an elevation of certain of the parts as shown in Fig. l when viewedin the direction of the arrow `8 iii-said figure'. f This viewalso shows the upper en'd of the bracket 58'and thepsuction head which shifts*y the amidsesointhe depositar andra-envers* Y them to the band applying mechanism, but the upper end of the bracket 58 and said head are not shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the pump cylindel's and yoke forpoperating the pistons thereof, the parts being shown as viewed in the direction of the arrow 7 in Fig. 4.

In the drawings:

20 represents the main frame of the machine which is made of any suitable shape for supporting the. various mechanisms forming parts of my improved cigar banding machine.

A 21 is the main shaft of my improved cigary banding machine which is revolubly mounted in suitable bearings, one of which is shown as at 22 and said shaft is revolved in any suitable manner by any suitable source of power.

A cam disk 23 is rigidly mounted upon the shaft 21 and a groove 24 is provided in one face of said disk.

A roller 25 revolubly mounted upon one end of the bell crank lever 26 is mounted in said groove. The lever 26 is secured upon the shaft 27 and thelatter is revolubly mounted. in suitable bearings, one of which is shown as aty 28.

The left hand end of the bell crank lever 26, (see Fig. 4), is connected by the link 29 with the cross head 30 which is rigidly secured upon the ends" of the rods 31-31, the latter being slidably mounted in the bearing 32. The rods 31-31 are joined together at the top by the cross head 33, the latter being provided with a clamp 34 in which the suction head 35 is secured. The clamp 34 is so arranged that the suction head may be adjusted vertically as desired. The suction head 35 is formed on a short length of tube to the lower end of which one end of the hose connection 36 is secured.

y The other end of the hose connection 36 is secured upon a nipple formed upon the pump cylinder 37. The pump cylinder 37 is secured upon the frame 20 by suitable bolts such as 38. A second pump cylinder 39 is also secured upon the frame 2O by suitable bolts such as 40.

Pistons 41 and 42 formed integrally with the connecting rod 43 are slidably mounted within :the cylinders 37 `and 39. The pistons 41 and 42 may be provided with any suitable, packing or rings.

A- yoke 44 is pivotally connected by the bolt 45 to the connecting rod 43 and the other end of said yoke is provided with a slot 46 through which the main shaft 21 extends. Cam rollers 47-47 are mounted upon the yoke 44 and 4said rollers contact with the face of the cams 4S-48, the latter being rigidly .secured upon the shaft 21.

The cigar bands are supported in a suitablemagazine, not shown, and the lowermost band 49 is bowed into the position to the position shown in Fig.

shown in Fig. 4 preparatory to its removal from the band magazine.

rlhe operation of the parts hereinbefore described is as follows z- The shaft 21 being revolved, the roller 25 is moved by the wall of the groove 24 and brings the suction head 35 upwardly until it contacts with the band 49. @ne of the cams 48, then moves a cam roller 47 in such a direction as to bring the piston 41 from its eXtreme right hand position, as indicated by the dotted line 5() in Fig. 4,

4, thus creatingapartial vacuum within the cylinder 37.4 When this occurs the pressure of the atmosphere holdsthe band 49 against the top of the suction head 35, the side of the groovev 24 then acts upon the roller 25 to movey the suction head 35 downwardly to the: position shown by full lines in Fig. 4 in `which position the suctionhead normally, rests in order to permit the band at 49l to be delivered to the conveyer 51. The conveyei.- 51 comprises a disk 52 provided with a groove bearing 53 which is revolubly mounted upon a y plurality of steel balls such as 54 'and the latter are supported in the groove bearing 55 formed in the index plat-e 56 which is secured by the bolts 57 to the bracket 58. The bracket 58 is secured upon ,the frame 2O by bolts such as 59. The bolt 60 is secured in the index plate 56 and a disk 61 secured upon the top of saidy bolt and bearing against the top of the disk 52 serves to prevent displacement of the disk 52 from the steel balls 54. A ring 62, preferably formed of aluminum, and having a chamfered edge as at 63 is secured in any approved'manner upon the disk l preferably employ aluminum for forming the ring 62 because of its freedom from corrosion since this ring becomes moistened by the wetting mechanism during the ordinary operation of the machine.

A plurality of brackets each coiinprising a base 64 and a pair of ears such as 65H65 is secured upon the disk 52. A bearing pin 66 is revolubly mounted in each pair of ears -65 and the ends of said pin are rigidly mounted in the ears 67-67 formed integrally with the clamp 68. A spring such as 69 mounted between the ears 65-65 upon the pin serves to keep each clamp normally in the position shown in Fig. 2. Each cla-iup 68 is provided with a tappet portion such as 70 and with an indurated libre nose such as 71 secured upon the clamping end. n

The periphery of the disk .i2 is formed with a plurality of teeth such as 72, the teeth being of thecontour such as 1s ordinarily employed rin the ordinary Geneva wind.

The pinion 73 having a single tooth 74 is mounted upon the shaft 75 and the latter is revolubly mounted in-Y a` .sui-table bearing formed Withinltheabraeket" 585; Afbevellgear 772 is- -mounted fupon tlieV lower end? ofy `the shaft= and yafbevelugear 78 meshes therewith. The-beveli-gear-`78 is-niounted upon the shaft *791and\y .the latter is revolubly mounted in suitable be aringsr one-Y of `which is` shownupon.thebracket- 58; Theabevel gear-80de- Vmounted 11 uponl `the shaft:` 79- `and meshes with lthejbevelgear:8111secured on one end oftheH-sha-'ft:-82, :the latter' is mounted in suitable bearingsl :(notwshoW-n) and fthe bevel-A gear 83 isfmounted vupon'3 theother end` thereof;l The bevelgear- 83 kmeshes: with the bevelV gear- 84. andfV the.. latteris mounted upon {the-maink shaft` 21.V

-The-means orgoperating thei clamps .68 .to receiveaband.; Willnow be described The roller 85 isrevolublygmounted in r'the fork 86 .and the Alattervr lisfvelticallyfslidable Within. 4the Abracket 87, an adj ustingff nut 188 being mounted-upon thefork 86` in order to limit thevertical movement thereof.

T he clamp opening lever 89'; is. pivotally mounted uponthepin 90-fand the latterl is securedvin the-bracket` 87. rIlhe bracket 872 is :secured uponetheframe 20 byfbolts The le-ver- 89 Lis providedavith a groovefin which is slid-ably. mounted the Wood blockf 92 and the metallic pin 93 is fixedr` insaidblock. The pin 93 extends through theslot -94 formed in the bracket 87 into ya `suitablehole provided in the fork k86. A springp95=fisfse curedat one end-to the lever 89- and aty the other end,l to the bracket 87 and serves yto move the lever ffrom the position shovvnby full lines in Fig. 4 yto -thefpositionshovvn by dottedlines Yin saidffigure Whenever the Onose 71 is to be lifted -from'theaa-luinlinum rilng62- The lever- 89 gis provided fwith a bearing-196i sleeve 97 "is pro-vided With a-cjylindiicailfporf tion which is4 revolublymounted' in said: bearing. A rod 98 slides freely throughth'e sleeve97 and they lowerendwof saidfrodis provided Witha bear-ingw99 which is'firevolubly lmounted `upon the llpin- 100 securedf'v inv the cross head 33;l Adjusting.nut-sysuch 101 serve to adjustetheoperation ofthe leverl 89.

The means for moistening |the bands With- Water or coating them With aI gumpreparation Willnoiv be described 1:-

Thecam disk 102vfis mounted uponv the shaft v,211 andbolted to the camydisk- 23j A cam. groove 103 is pro-vided 4 ini the disk 102 and tlie `roller 104'- is revolubly mounted on the-upper end vofthe-lever v105 v-andf=the latter Whig-gli is pivotally connected to -f the 5 lower eneoftmeiieva 11e. 'Testine-ies lepra;

vided witheagclevisfoniieach end `bysmeansof whichfitslengthmaylbe adjusted The-lever is; rigidly-'- securedV` 5to; Ithey Vsliat 11115 f and the latter ist revoluloly-mountedv in "suitable bearingbrackets one; ofi-"Which is .a shown at 1-121in Fig. @and isseeuredto the fra-111920 by means o-bolts=-suchy asl-13. The-lever 1.14 is-falso-seeuredtothe 'shaft 11111 andthe sleeve 11115 is secured to the end offsaid lever; TheA lower memberfo the, universal joint-3116 is revolubly mounted in the'sleeve ll''and the upper (memberfof-lsaid joint Visconnec-ted ,to thelink 117- vvlfiiclt` extends through the hole11f8`-providedfinl-the 1Jframe 120 and-fsaid linkis pivotall-y-eonneeted atl its upper end toY one eend of the bell cranklever 4119,#1the latter being pivotally `mounted on the bracket'120.r4 'Dliefbracketj120 is-Yr-evolubl-'y mountedv upon ythe lowerendio-'th'ebolt'lGOL It is fitobe noted that 'theupper"end offft'lie link 117? Iis in substantial alignment vwith the aX-isL of-thebol-ty l60; consequent-ly, asthe bracket@ 120l is revolved, as lherein-aft'er f'explained, non motion vlof; fthe leverv 119 -is1ef`- fected.4 Itis also evidenkthatbymeajson of the fact that theJ lower end r-o-ltlie universali joint 116, isi revolubly-fmounted fin the-sleeve the bracket- 120" may i-fbedreely turned? about the bolt'fGO.

yThe upperfend of the bell crankI lever 119 is-,pivotally connected-to onegend'of the arm;- 121f which is formed integrally- With the sponge holder-l 122. A pin 123-y is mounted inthe yarm-121` andthe roller-124is revolubly mountedf upon 'the'. endi `off-said' pin. The roller 124 extends-intothefrecess 126 pro-f said shaft. A springfl'l' seuredlat-one end',

127 serves1k to ynornfiall'yb keep the; switchi 128 1 inthe position shown ingEig. 2.1 In-Fii'gs.` 1Q and* 2,?- lthe -middle portion-of? the spring is omitted for the/Sake of olearness; The

switch 1281s shaped so that when V4the roller f 1241y movesin aleorunfterg vcloeklivise, direction oisaid reeess and i the fate ofkl said? switch-k from the position marked 132 in said'lguref to th'eposition markedi133 i-nf said figure, withlout produeinigi anyl movementi ofA saidswitfch As saidglrollei movesffrom: the posi#` tionna-agzfkedif133 toi-theaposition marked 2134;

the switch 128'w-illbe lifted anditliefspring Willbring said switch-to the@4 position :shown l by full lines l in l ligi` 2; vwhen. 1 the: roller; has l reached f theqposition show-n i dotted atl 13'4SJ During this lastdescribed"y movementi ot?` thevITollerf1245iit will l'be guided jbyr the;l `Wall -swtdri 123:12 During the mevement pfff-the roller 124 from the position shown at 134 to the position shown at 135, the roller will be guided by the wall of the recess 126 and by the edge 136 of the plate 137, said edge bearing upon the pin 123. lhen the roller moves from the position shown at to the position shown at 132, it will be guided by the face of the switch 128 and by the edges 136 and 138 of the plate 137, said edges bearing against the pin 123.

From the position shown at 132, in a counterl clockwise direction, to the position shown at 135, the plate 137 is provided with an edgev 139 which follows the contour of the wall of the recess 126 and projects sufliciently inside of said wall to just clear the pin 123 when the roller 124 is .moving around said wall. The projecting edge y139 is provided on this portion of the plate in order` to extend over the face of the roller 124 adjacent to the arm.121 and the edges 136 and 138 have a like relation to said face, this arrangement of the plate with reference to said roller insuring that the arms 121 and L 127 shall move together when the arm 127 is revolved around the bolt 60, as hereinafter explained. The arm 127 is revolubly mounted upon the bolt 60 between the bracket 120 and the index plate 56. The arm 127 is provided with a boss 140 in which is slidably mounted the index pin 141 normally kept' in the position shown in Fig. 2 by the spring 142 and capable of movement downwardly from said position by the head143 secured to the lower end of said pin. The upper end of the pin 141 may be introduced within any one of the index holes 144 by moving the head v143 downwardly and' shifting the arm 127 until the upper end of said pin is in alignment with said hole, thus locking the arm 127 in any desiredposition, for a purpose hereinafter explained. Y

The reservoir 145 is secured at the upper end of the pipe 146 and the lower end of said pipe is secured in the frame 2O and extends through said frame, a hose connection 147 being secured at one end of said extension and the other end of said hose being` secured to one end'of the pipe 148 mounted upon the link 117. The hose 149 is secured to the lower end of the pipe 148 and the upper end of said hose` is secured to the sponge holder 122.

The depositor which removes the bands from the conveyer after the same have beeny wetted and delivers them to the suction head that transfers them tothe band applying mechanism will now be described A cam disk 150 is secured upon the shaft 21 and said cam disk is provided with a groove 151 in which is mounted the cam roller 152, thevv latter being revolubly mounted upon the pin v153', the pin 153 being secured in the lever 154 which is mounted at its lower end upon the pin 155 secured in the bracket 156, and the latter is secured upon the frame 2O by cap screws 157.

A link 158 is pivotally connected at one end to the upper end of the lever 154 and the other end of said link is pivotally connected to one arm of the bell crank lever 159.

The link 158 is provided with a clevis at its right hand end (see F ig. 1) by means of which the length of said link may be adjusted. prises the spring case 160 in which is mounted the spring 161 against which bears the left face of the enlarged end 162 formed on the rod forming the body of said link. A spring 163 bears against the right face of said enlarged end and a thimble 164 thread: ed within the case 160 serves to produce any desired pressure of the springs 161 and 163 upon the enlarged end 162.

The lever 159 is formed integrally with the boss 165 and the latter is revolubly mounted upon the sleeve 166, the lower end of which is secured in the frame 20. The nuts167 at the upper end of said sleeve prevent displacement of the boss 165 thereon, and nuts 168 at the lower end yof said sleeve secure the latter in the frame 20. l The fixed member 169 of the depositor clamp is secured at the end of the lever 159, as yshown as at 171 upon a riser 172 provided upon thek end of the lever 159. A groove 173 is formed inthe depending portion 174 of the member 17 0 and the roller 175 is mounted in said groove. The roller 175 is mounted upon a pin secured in the upper' end of the arm 176 and the latter is secured upon one end of the shaft 177 which is revolubly mounted in the riser 172 and 'ear 178 formed upon the lever 159 and the lever 179 is secured upon the other end of said shaft. The

free end of the lever 179 rests upon. the push rod 180 which is slidably mounted coaxially with 'the sleeve 166, the lower end of the rod 180 rests upon the end of the lever 181 which is secured upon the shaft 182 and the latter is revolubly mounted in the bearing bracket 183 secured to the frame 20 by bolts such as 184. The lever 185 is also'fsecured upon lthe shaft 182 and extends upwardly through a suitable hole provided in the frame 20, and the upper end of said lever is l pivotally connected to one end of the link 186, the other end of which is pivotally mounted upon the pin 187 secured vinthe At its left end the link 158 comlever 188, the latter being pivotally mounted upon the pin155. A rollerV 189 revolubly mounted upon a pin at the upper end of the lever 188 extends into the cam groove 190 formed in the cam disk- 191 and the latter is rigidly secured upon the shaft 21. The means for operating the suctionhead which removes the bands from the rdepositor andv delivers them to the band applying mechanism will now be described Theshaft 192 is revolubly'mounted in a suitable bearing provided inthe upper end of the bracket 58 and a` gear wheel 1931'1s rigidly secured upon said shaft. The tooth periphery of'sai'd gear meshes with a geai` belonging to a part of my improved cigar banding machine not included in the present application.y `The bevel :gear 1-94'is mounted upon the shaft 192 and meshesfwith the bevel gear 1f95A which is mounted `upon the upper end off the' shaft 75. (ln-onef'sitle of ythe gear wheel 193 there is provideda calnigroove 19o/in whichfis mounted the roller 197 and the-latter is revolubly mounted upon/'alpinV ino'ne end ofthe lever f198. The lever 1-98fissecured tothe shaft 199 and the lever 200 is also `secured tosai'd shaft. The clamp 201 iszpivotedtofthe l'ett end. of the lever 200 (see Fig. 6), and the olevis 202 is'adjusta'bly lsecured in .said clamp. The' clevisi202is connectedl to the cross head 203 Vandthe latter is secured to the guide rods 204'and 205, bothof Whichare'mou'ntedk to'slide freely 'vertically in suitable bearings forming partof'the `bracket 58. The rod-204 is sli'dably'fmounted in anysuitable bearincr at its lower 'end-and the rod 205 isv secured vat its Alower endto the yoke 206, the :prongs of' which are slidably mounted in suitable grooves 2062-206 formed Within the kbracket 207 which ris `secured to the bracket 58 in any approved manner. The yoke 206 is provided with a' nipple 208 to which one end of the hose 209 is secured, the other -end of said vhose being attached to a nipple formed upon they pump cylinder 39. The nipple 208 communicates vvith Va hole in the nostril 210 formed on the lower side of the yoke 206.

In order to provide for non-interference of the clamps upon the conveyer when a band is being removed by the depositor from the conveyer, the following.instrumentalities are' provided y The-cam 211 is secured uponthe shaft 75 and theroller 212 bears-against the face of said cam. The roller 212 is revolubly mounted upon a pin secured inthe lever 213, the latter being revolubly mountedupon the pin 214secured in the bracket 215 Which is securedv to the bracket 58 in any approved manner. Upon a suitable'pin in the end ofk the lever 213 there are revolubly mounted three'rollers 216, 217 land 218' which are so located as tobebrouglil'- in'tocontact, as hereinafter explained, With three of the tappets 70. In order torestore 'the lever213' to the position shown-in Fig. 1 after each displacel ment therefrom by the camv 211, the'ispring.-

land connected yparts rwill vkeepv the lowermost nut 101 from contact With the sleeve 97 and thus, the spring 95 will' orce'fthe roller 85 down uponfthe tappet-70 andlift the nose 71-against the'pressureo'f'thefspringk 69so that theJ band 49 may be brought down against the ring 62. Shortlyafter kthis 'occurs, the lowermost nut 101- strikes the sleeve 97 and moves therlamp-opening llever 89 to the position shownv byriull' lines in Fig.- 4, thus removingthe *roller 85 .from contact with the tappet 70 and=allovfi'ngthe`r kspring 69 to bring the nose 71down' upon the band Vat 49a.

It is to be understood that durifng the motion of the suction head 35and clamp opening lever '89,' the tooth 7 4 .ofthe pinion 7 3' Will be moving through that partfof its'arcof motion in which itwill beoutpf vcontact with a tooth 72 on the conveyer l'andft'hus, said conveyer will remain motionless.y

AsA soon as the band is secured between 48 moves the right hand `roller 447toward the right thus terminating the partial kvacuum within thel cylinder 37 and releasingthe suction 'of thehead 35 upon'thefband. The

'i05- `the clamp 71 Vandy thering 63 one of` thev cams tooth 74 moving in 'a counter-clockwise direction (as shown in Fig. 1), then intermittently rotatesy the conveyer 51-.in'a` clockwise direction until vthe band is over the sponge 220. When this occurs, Vthe roller 124 will be in the position shown'atv185 in Fig. 2. The wall of the cam groove 103 acting through thefrollefr 104 and connected parts then moves the roller 124 from the position 135 to the position 132, thus bringing the sponge 220 intocontact with the lower l side of the band, and during-the Imotion of the roller 124 fromk the position 1:32 to the position'221,`the spongewi'll be moved approximately horizontally in contact with `the lower side" of the band. t K will then move ydownwardly and toward.

The roller 1124 the right to again reach'the position- 135",

`and during this latter'movementhe switch 128 will be lifted in order to permit the roller to pass and will then be forced downwardly by the spring 131 to the position shown in Fig. 2, thus preventing any return of the roller 124 along the lower side of the recess 126 when it is next operated.

It is to kbe noted that water is kept in the reservoir 145 up to about the l vel ot the line 222 in Fig. 5 and as the sponge is .'moved, as justl described, the sponge holder 122 will be brought slightly below said level, and consequently, the water passing through the hose 147 and 149 and the tube 148 will wet the lower side of the sponge 220 and keep it moist.

The conveyer 51 is then rotated intermittently, as already described, until the moistened band is brought into position to be grasped by the clamping members oi the depositor. When the band has reached this position, the wall of the cam groove 151 operating upon the roller 152 and connected parts moves the depositor from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position it will occupy when the clamping end of the fixed member of the clamp 169 isin the position shown by dotted lines in said figure.

During the motion of the depositor, as just described, the wall of the cam groove 190 acting through the roller V189 and connected part-s upon the movable member 170 of the depositor clamp normally keeps the latter raised from the fixed member 169; consequently, when the conveyer 51 is moved' forwardly, the band held in the correspondingv clamp on the conveyer is intro duced between the fixed and movable members of the depositor clamp and the conveyer then comes to rest. The cam groove 190 acting through the roller 189 and connected parts will move the end oi the lever 181 downwardly andthe spring 223 will move the lever 179 and the push rod 180 downwardly. The pressure ot' said spring acting through the roller 17 5 upon the wall of the groove 173 will bring the movable member 170 down against the band.

It is to be noted by reference to Fig. l that the band at 49b will extend crosswise ot the clamping` portions of the iixed and movable members of the depositor clamp and that said portions will be applied to said band near the centre of the latter, thus avoiding contact with the wetted portion thereof 224.

The wall of the cam groove 151 acting through the roller 152 and connected parts then moves the depositor from the position in which the clamping end of the fixed mem ber 169 is shown dotted in Fig. 1 to the position shown by full lines in said figure in order to bring the band into operative relation with the nostril 210.

Previous to the motion of the depositor, as just described, the face of the cam 211 acting through the rolle-r 212 and connected parts brings the rollers 216, 217 and 218 into contact with threek of the tappets 70, thus raising three of the noses 71 in order to release from the conveyer clamp the r band that has just been gripped by the depositor clasp, and raising` the next two noses in a clockwise direction so as to permit the free passage under same of the end o't the band that has just been released.

It is to be noted that the rollers 216, 217 and 218 are of different sizes and this variation in size is provided to compensate for the angular position ot' the lever 213 with reference to the tappet and insures that the three noses 70 will be raised equal distances above the ring 63.

It is desirable to be able to vary the time interval ybetween the instant at which Vthe sponge 220 is applied to the band and the instant at which the band is delivered to the conveyer, and the operation of the parts by which the variation in said time interval is obtained is as follows It is to be noted that the suction head 35 delivers the band to the conveyer clamps in a iixed position and that said bands are carriedfin a clockwise direction (see Fig. 1) by the conveyer to the position in which the sponge 220 is applied thereto. Vhen the sponge 220 is in the position shown in said figure, the shortest time interval allowed Will elapse between the instant at which it is applied to the band and the instant at which said band is delivered to the depositor. It may be desired to vary this interval owing to a variation in the hydrosoopic state of the atmosphere, the temperature thereof, the nature and consistency of the gum upon the bands, or other factors which might produce a variation in the time required to secure a proper softening of the gum.

This is accomplished by applying the lingers to the head 143, applying the index pin 141 downwardly, and moving the arm 127 in a counter clockwise direction and then allowing the index pin 141 to enter the appropriate hole of the series of index holes 144, thus increasing the time interval as desired.

It is to be noted that when the arm 127 is moved as just described, the arm 121, which carries the sponge holder, will be moved in unison therewith on account oi the relation between the roller 124 and the plate 137 as hereinbefore described.

When the depositor reaches the position shown by full lines in Fig. l, the wall of the cam groove 196 acting through the roller 197 and connected parts upon the yoke 206 brings the nostril 210 into contact with the upper side of the band at 49". When this occurs, the cam 48 acting upon the right roller 47, moves the piston 42 toward the right and thus creates a partial vacuum within lili the cylinder 39 which communicates with the nostril 210 and thus the pressure of the atmosphere upon the lower side of the band presses said band against said nostril. The wall of the cam groove 190 acting through the roller 189 and connected parts upon a movable member 170 of the depositor clamp lifts said member from contact with the band and as soon as this occurs, the wall of the cam groove 151 then moves the depositor to bring the clamping end of the xed member 169 to the position shown, dotted in Fig. 1, the cam groove 190 acting through the roller 189 and connected parts keeping the movable member 170 raised from the xed member 169.

It is to be noted that during the movements of the depositor the springs 161 and 163 act as cushions to absorb the shocks due to the inertia of the parts.

Vhile I have shown a rotatory conveyer provided with clamps thereon for holding the article to be wetted, a wetting mechanism and a depositor for removing the article from the clamps on the conveyer' in combination with means for varying the time interval between the wetting of the article and the removal of the article from the clamps of the conveyer by the depositor, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the use of a rotary conveyer, for the means for varying said time interval or the equivalent thereof may be used with many forms of conveyers and many forms of depositors. Furthermore, while I have shown one specific means for periodically wetting one side of the sponge forming part of my wetting mechanism, it is to be understood that many forms of mechanisms may be provided for accomplishing this purpose and the variation in the aforesaid time interval without departing from the spirit of my invention.

It is also to be noted that many changes may be made in the space relations of the elements of my improved coating machine and in thev correlation of the movements thereof without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim 1. In a coating machine, the combination with a conveyer, of a plurality of clamps thereon, means for opening each of said clamps to receive an article, means for closing said clamps, a depositor for moving an article from each clamp and means for opening each clamp to deliver an article to said depositor, said means also acting to open a plurality of adjacent clamps in order to provide clearancefor said article during its movement by said depositor.

2. In a coating machine, the combination with a conveyer, of a plurality of clamps thereon, means for opening each of said clamps to receive an article, means for closing said clamps, a depositor, said depositor comprising fixed and movable clamp members, means for moving said movable member away from said fixed member, means for moving said article between said members, means for moving said movable member to grasp said article, means for opening said clamp, means for moving said depositor into position to deliver said article and means for moving said movable member to release said article.

3. In a coating machine, the combination With a conveyer for articles to be wetted, a plurality of clamps thereon for clamping said articles and a depositor comprising clamping` members, of timed mechanism for opening and closing said clamps and clamping members to deliver said articles from said clamps to said clamping members.

4. In a coating machine, the combination with a conveyer for articles to be wetted, a plurality of clamps thereon for clamping said articles, mechanism for delivering an article to each clamp and a depositor comprising clamping members, of timed mechanism for opening and closing said clamps and clamping members to deliver said articles from said clamps to said clamping members and mechanism for removing said article from said clamping members.

5. In a coating machine, the combination with a conveyer and means for imparting rotatory motion thereto in a plurality of steps alternating with dwells, of a yieldable clamp for holding an article mounted on said conveyer, a depositor, and means for releasing said article from said clamp and delivering it to said depositor during a dwell.

6. A coating machinecomprising a movable conveyer and a movable depositor, each provided with means to clamp an article, means acting to deliver said article from the clamps on said conveyer to the clamps on said depositor, means acting to deliver said article to the clamp on said conveyer and means acting to remove said article from the clamp on said depositor.

7. In a coating machine, the combination with a conveyer, of a clamp thereon and means for delivering a band to said clamp so that said clamp will grasp said band only near the centre thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

BEIM-101.1) D. SCHOEHWETTER. 

